Separate extruder for PLA & ABS?

[Owen M Collins]

Does swapping between ABS & PLA cause any problems? I am thinking of
any residual ABS in the extruder. Should a user do a thorough cleaning
before switching?

Or would it be easier on the user ( but more expensive) to build a
second extruder for PLA?

What are people's thoughts?

Thanks in advance,
O.

[Cid Vilas]

Because of the different operating temperatures of both plastics i
decided to use two seperate plastruders. You could just as easily
just have multiple heater barrel assemblies. This would be much
cheaper, but you will have to go through the process of removing
filament and swapping heater barrel assemblies everytime you want to
switch material.

I say invest in extra barrels and a second plastruder. Don't get
stuck waiting for abs to melt in acetone or pla burning. Simply swap
and keep printing.

Anyone else?

On Jan 7, 2010, at 4:10 PM, Owen M Collins <ccstud...@gmail.com>
wrote:

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[cyrozap]

What about just running the PLA at ABS temperatures until it is clear?

On Jan 7, 7:19 pm, Cid Vilas <cidvi...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Because of the different operating temperatures of both plastics i  
> decided to use two seperate plastruders.  You could just as easily  
> just have multiple heater barrel assemblies.  This would be much  
> cheaper, but you will have to go through the process of removing  
> filament and swapping heater barrel assemblies everytime you want to  
> switch material.
>
> I say invest in extra barrels and a second plastruder.  Don't get  
> stuck waiting for abs to melt in acetone or pla burning.  Simply swap  
> and keep printing.
>
> Anyone else?
>

> On Jan 7, 2010, at 4:10 PM, Owen M Collins <ccstudio.o...@gmail.com>  

[Dave Casey]

Before switching, I strongly suggest printing up a spare insulator retainer plate...you might be needing one sooner than you think. :-)
Before I switched, I ran black ABS so I could see what was going on. I ran a bunch of PLA at ABS temperatures until it was clear, then shifted down to PLA temperature. A few dozen small PLA prints later, I was still seeing occasional small flecks of black ABS embedded in the PLA, but eventually it cleared out, and did not cause any noticeable jams along the way.

--
“Indecision may or may not be my problem.”
 -Jimmy Buffett

[MakerBlock]

Given that you can dissolve PLA in a caustic solution and leave the
ABS untouched, you could print some seriously crazy stuff using a dual
extruder.
I mean, if you're going to the trouble/expense of building a second
extruder, might as well try something like: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1332
MakerBlock

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